FREEDOM
by Hakase Fudou
Summary: Paradox's time travel does not come without consequences. It comes with the consequence of the three protagonists' powers being mixed up! Will the three of them be able to regain their own powers in time before Paradox uses this event to his advantage?


**FREEDOM**

A Yu-Gi-Oh! 10th Anniversary Fanfic

_Summary: Yuugi Mutou, Yuki Judai, and Yusei Fudou, bonded by their common enemy, Paradox, have decided to combine their powers to defeat him. However, due to Paradox contradicting time, there has been a glitch in all three universes and all three protagonists' powers have been mixed up! Will the three of them be able to obtain their own powers in time and defeat Paradox or will Paradox use this accident as an advantage to destroy the world that has been dominated by Duel Monsters? _

_Disclaimer: No YGO related thing mentioned is mine. I couldn't possibly make up such an epic movie by myself. Rated M for language._

_Author's Note: Oh no. Another one-shot. Well, YGO 10__th__ Anniversary left too many things to be desired, so I had to make a fanfic to fulfill one of them. And the title . . . well, you try figuring it out for yourself. I've decided to go back to the third person style to see if I could improve on that since I do need to use it for my Team Satisfaction fic I need to update. And, before you read this, keep in mind that I am not an expert when it comes to writing the past or present tense and I tend to get the two confused if I am not careful. However, if I write in the past and switch to the present and vice versa in this fic, I am extra careful to make sure it is for a reason. Also, beware of OOCness in some of the characters. So, please, by all means, read and review. :3_

* * *

It is just another normal afternoon in the city of Domino. People constantly talking on their cell phones, children playing in the local playground, and the older children returning from school were many of the situations that were typical in the afternoon. The buses are running business as usual and the world is at peace. There is no threat to mankind to disturb the lucid signs of tranquility in this place.

Or so you thought.

In actuality, Domino City has been ruined. The buildings that were there, apart from the Domino High school building, have been destroyed mercilessly by Cyber End Dragon, a card a man, who calls himself Paradox, had acquired prior to his destruction spree. Paradox's goals are unknown at this point, except to murder the creator of Duel Monsters . . . and he has. Not only this, but he has unintentionally murdered the Domino City population with the exception of a sixteen year old boy, Yuugi Mutou.

Yuugi had only been an innocent bystander in this massacre. He had absolutely nothing to do with the deaths of the thousands of people that died under Paradox, including his own grandfather, whom he had adored since his childhood days. Since his parents were always away from home, he was forced to live under his grandfather's Game Shop. Through his grandfather, Yuugi grew to love games, and, more importantly, the card game, Duel Monsters. The story, in this boy's eyes, was clear. The peace that had so long reigned in Domino City has been disturbed by yet another madman who wants to destroy the world using Duel Monsters, something that not even the Duel Monsters themselves wanted to carry out.

However, something disturbs the spike-haired teenager, Yuugi Mutou, the well known Duel King, as he feels his personal space to make sure that he was still alive after the massacre. He completely panics, to the point where he almost rips his hair out, in searching for a prized possession.

"My puzzle . . . It's gone!" He cries in distress.

His puzzle, his Millennium Puzzle, has disappeared.

* * *

**FREEDOM (****自由****)**

"_Mune ni himetaatsui omoi wa mugen no mirai eto kaketeyuku_

_Ugokihajimeta yume wa genkaisaekoete michibikudarou mabayui hikari no sasu bashoe"* _

Towards Domino City, in a part of town where a river ran through, there were two figures walking. One wears a red jacket with a black shirt underneath, white pants, and red and black shoes, the uniform of the Duel Academy he currently attends. He has brown, somewhat spiked, hair with a hint of gold highlights in it. He has brown eyes and somewhat pale skin. Normally, he was an uncontrollable type, but as he grew along, he had become a matured adult in terms of realizing that not everything is about having fun while dueling. He is currently in his fourth year at Duel Academy and his name is Yuki Judai.

The other figure wears brown shoes, those that reach the calves, and gloves, a blue jacket with a black pattern running along, a black sleeveless shirt with a thought provoking red pattern on it , and blue-gray pants with a belt. His hair is midnight black with gold highlights and it is spiked and has the shape of a crab. He has royal blue eyes that mostly have a serious tone contained in them. He is mostly a calm person, unless someone threatens a facet of his life, such as his friends, his cards, or his family's honor. He is the son of a well-known scientist and researcher and his wife, who were killed in an accident infamously known as Zero Reverse, and the fact that his parents both were scientists and highly regarded can be demonstrated in him. His name is Yusei Fudou.

These two figures have come from two different time periods. Yuki Judai comes from the time period five years after Yuugi Mutou, the sixteen year old boy you have first met in the beginning of this mindboggling tale. Yusei Fudou comes from a time period long after Yuugi Mutou's and Yuki Judai's. Before the story continues, you must know about how the two, Yuki Judai and Yusei Fudou, met in the first place.

This tale all began in Yusei's time period. He, along with his two friends, Jack Atlus and Crow Hogan, were in a Riding Duel with a mysterious man who calls himself Paradox, who has come from a 'ruined future'. During the duel, Paradox uses the effect of one of his monsters to capture Stardust Dragon, Yusei's ace card, and turn it into a 'Sin' monster. The last words Paradox had told Yusei before he disappeared into another time frame were "Fudou Yusei! I will be taking your Stardust Dragon now. Perish, along with this era!" This had begun Yusei's desire to find and defeat Paradox to regain Stardust Dragon, a card he cherishes along with his life.

Paradox, having arrived in the time period where Yuki Judai lived, used Stardust to destroy whatever was there. Whatever method he used, he also gained Cyber End Dragon, the monster he had used to destroy the Domino City in Yuugi Mutou's time period. Yuki Judai, having been attacked by Stardust, also desires to find Paradox and defeat him. The paths between Yusei and Judai had crossed and they both agree to find Yuugi Mutou and ask him to help them defeat Paradox. However, unbeknownst to Yuugi, Judai, or Yusei, Paradox's journey into the past caused a glitch in time. The effects of this will surely affect our three heroes in the near future.

All Yusei knows is this: There was a monster, a female Duel Monster spirit surrounding him each second, who persists in calling him "Judai". He has no desire to answer the Duel Monster, yet he is irritated at the fact that he is called by something other than his given name, a name he is proud of. A name that his father and mother had carefully chosen, just for him.

"Yusei, is something the matter?" Judai inquires suddenly. "I mean, besides the fact that your treasured card has been stolen and is now being used to annihilate everything in its path."

"Yes." Yusei sighs in frustration. "You communicate with Duel Monster spirits, don't you?"

"Uh huh. Why do you ask?" Judai scratches his head slowly, trying to process why Yusei is unusually publicly showing frustration when he is usually calm.

"Because," Yusei replies, "there is a certain Duel Monster that will not stop talking to me and it insists on calling me YOUR name." He points to a Duel Monster who has bi-colored hair that is gray and purple, bi-colored eyes that is orange and blue, and has wings. It has a huge eye in the middle of its forehead and it has a very feminine-like body, with the exception of the claw as its right arm.

Judai looks at the Duel Monster and gasps, nearly falling to the ground in shock.

"Yu-Yubel? Why . . . why is she . . . ?" Judai stutters in shock. At the same time, a clinking sound could be heard and Yusei stares in the direction of the noise. In Yusei's line of vision, he could see a gold upside down pyramid with an eye in the middle of it. It looked like a solved jigsaw puzzle with a huge chain attached to it.

"What is that?" Yusei gasps. He had no knowledge of what the item hanging from Judai's neck could be.

Judai looks down at the source of the clinking noise – the jigsaw pyramid – and grasps the object in anger.

"What . . . What the HELL is this?" He yells. "Why is Yubel . . . Just WHAT exactly is going on here?"

"Yubel?" Yusei asks. "Is that the name of –"

"Yes." Judai interrupts. "She and I have agreed to combine our powers to help mankind retain peace and she has, let us say, been a part of my soul ever since that day. But, I have no idea what this jigsaw puzzle around my neck could be, though I have seen something similar to this back in my freshman year at Duel Academy."

Yubel, watching this, becomes confused. Wasn't the one she was following named 'Judai'? The other one had to be a stranger, someone she had no relation to.

Judai sighs and rises back to his feet. He figures that if he and Yusei arrive in Domino City that they would get the answers they desperately need and regain his sanity.

"Judai, we have to remain calm. If we give in to our emotions, Paradox will use that to his advantage and easily destroy each one of us. And whatever that smoke is up ahead, there is no doubt that is bad news for us, who come from the future." Yusei warns Judai sternly. He had no intention of giving up hope now. Not when he was so close to regaining Stardust, one of the few remnants of his family that he had.

Judai nods and the two resume their journey to Domino City, with no knowledge of the massacre that had taken place.

* * *

**~Domino City~**

Yuugi stands on the rooftop of his school, Domino High, overlooking the damage that Paradox had caused. He grabs onto the barbed wire and clutches it tightly to prevent the tears that were forming in his eyes from falling.

"Minna* . . . Ojii-chan* . . ." He whispers.

"Mou Hitori No Boku* . . ."

After Yuugi had realized his Millennium Puzzle was missing, he had searched through the rubble in hopes to find it. He believed that it was yanked and blown away from him during the chaos that had ensued before the massacre. But, after fifteen minutes of searching, he could not find it and he gave up. He proceeded to take refuge in his high school's rooftop.

"What was that monster?" Yuugi whispers. "It wasn't a monster that I had ever seen in my life. And who was responsible for it? Who would be responsible for such a merciless act?"

His grip on the barbed wire increases with each sentence that came out of his mouth.

"Where's Mou Hitori No Boku? If he were here, he would know what to do in a situation like this. He always does. I just HAVE to find the Millennium Puzzle somehow before it gets into the wrong hands!" He sinks to his knees, still having that strong hold onto the barbed wire. "If I don't find it, I'll let him down. He'll never find out his true name and he will be stuck in this life forever. Nobody else can do that but me!"

The tears Yuugi had so long resisted to release finally came down, pouring so much that it dampened his skin.

"MOU HITORI NO BOKU!"

At that instant, there was a strong, painful sensation in Yuugi's right arm. He winces and clutches his right arm. He gasps when he looks at his arms. A red mark, in the shape of a dragon's head, had formed on his arm and it was glowing and giving a bright light, so much so that it nearly blinded him.

The sky turns dark purple at the sensation and a huge red and yellow dragon appears, giving a piercing cry at its awakening. Yuugi looks up at the sky in amazement while clutching his right arm in pain.

"What . . . is that thing?" Yuugi whispers, tears having been halted at the sight of the dragon. He watches as the dragon disappears into the horizon and the sky returns to its normal, cloudless blue state.

This event left Yuugi speechless.

* * *

**~Near Domino City~**

The sky that hugs the area where Yusei and Judai were was turning into a dark purple and it had become incredibly windy in that area. Both Yusei and Judai were amazed at the sudden change in weather.

"What's going on now?" Judai yells over the wind. Before Yusei could reply to this, however, the same huge fiery dragon that had appeared to Yuugi appears to the both of them, giving the same high pitched cry. Yubel, standing next to Yusei, was amazed at the sight and wondered too what was going on. She had no idea what kind of dragon this was. Unbeknownst to Yusei, his eyes had changed colors. They had changed from royal blue to red and green.

"What . . . what is that?" Judai screams, falling to the ground. The Millennium Puzzle around his neck activates and the spirit residing inside it, a young man who looks like Yuugi, but with more mature features, appears beside Judai. He looks at the event taking place and wonders what had happened since the accident that occurred in Domino City. He had been knocked unconscious due to Paradox's powers, hence why he is uninformed about what happened to him. A replay of the incident had awakened him and he had wondered where Yuugi was. But for now, he just had to rely on his new vessel to lead him to Yuugi. He gazes at the sight that was taking place before his eyes.

"This dragon . . . Just what is it?" The spirit ponders in his mind, being amazed at the sight of the dragon.

"It's . . . the Crimson Dragon." Yusei whispers. "But, why isn't my right arm glowing? Am I not a Signer? Just what exactly is going on?"

The Crimson Dragon screams again and it emits a flame that surrounds Judai, Yubel, Yusei, and the ancient spirit, making them more surprised than they already were at this sudden turn of events. The fiery dragon then swallows the flame containing the four of them and begins its path back to Domino City.

"Crimson Dragon . . . Where are you taking us?" Yusei thinks to himself.

* * *

**~Domino City~**

Yuugi's arm is still glowing, even after the fiery dragon had disappeared into the horizon. The sky had returned to its normal blue with clouds. Yuugi is in awe of all that is happening around him ever since that monster showed up in its merciless attempt to massacre the Domino City population. But, before he could say a word, the sky returned to its purple state.

"This is really strange weather today." Yuugi concludes. However, the mark on his arm continues to glow strongly, reassuring him that the mark couldn't have been caused by strange weather alone and it definitely was a sign that the fiery dragon would return. The Crimson Dragon returns to where he was and gives a high pitched scream before emitting a flame that held Yubel, the spirit, Yusei, and Judai inside. The dragon cries for one last time before disappearing in the sky. Afterwards, the sky returns to its normal state: Blue with very few clouds.

Yuugi stares at what was presented before him by the Crimson Dragon. He is confused at what has happened and had not noticed when his arm stopped glowing and the shape of the Head mark remained on his right arm.

"Who – Who are you?" Yuugi asks the two people that were in front of him and that were struggling to return to their feet.

"Ah. Yuugi-san." Judai greets him with a bow. "Excuse us. We were just walking towards Domino City when - "

"Judai! He did not ask for the story. He asked who we were." Yusei snaps irritably.

Yuugi only stares at the two in confusion. "Ju . . . dai?"

"Ah, yes. My name is Yuki Judai. It's a pleasure to meet you, Duel King!" Judai responds to Yuugi's inquiry.

Yuugi was not paying much attention to Judai, but rather, the Millennium Puzzle that hung around his neck.

"My puzzle!" Yuugi cries suddenly. "How did you get my Millennium Puzzle?!"

"Millennium Puzzle? So THAT'S what this is." Judai responds to Yuugi's cry.

"You thief. Give me back my Millennium Puzzle!" Yuugi yells. "I'll never forgive you if you don't give that back to me!"

"Gladly. This chain attached to it is heavy!" Judai sighs in relief. However, when he grabbed the chain to lift over his head to take it off and give it to Yuugi, he found the task impossible to do.

"What the - ? I can't get this off of me!" Judai gasps in exasperation, struggling to release the Millennium Puzzle from his neck.

"Here, let me do it." Yusei sighs, thinking that Judai had been so tense that his strength was drained from him, making it impossible to lift even a feather. However, when he grabbed the chain and tried to lift it, he too found it impossible to lift.

"What the hell?" Yusei snarls. "This is impossible to lift! How can that be?"

"Don't tell me you're pretending this just so you won't give it to me. I won't let you have something that I cherish deeply!" Yuugi balls his hands into a fist.

"I assure you we wouldn't be pretending this." Yusei replies.

"Right. Like I'll believe that." Yuugi says.

He walks over to Judai's neck and grabs the chain and pulled in an upward motion. However, not even he could lift up the Millennium Puzzle.

"What's this? I can't lift the Puzzle?" Yuugi whispers. "But, it's rightfully mine . . ." As Yuugi ponders this sudden event, Yusei notices Yuugi's right arm. It had an odd pattern that looks familiar to him.

"Yuugi-san, what is that on your arm, if I may ask?" He inquires.

"My right arm? I have no idea. It formed and this huge fiery dragon appears out of nowhere. Though, it looks like some sort of symbol."

"May I take a closer look at this 'symbol'?" Yusei asks.

"Um, sure. I don't see why not. It's not like it's going to make things worse." Yuugi replies. He holds out his right arm and Yusei grabs it to inspect the mark on his arm. When he realized that the mark was indeed the Head mark of the Crimson Dragon, he gasps.

"This is . . . the Head mark of the Crimson Dragon!" Yusei cries. "This is MY Signer mark."

"So let me get this straight. Yusei, you have my powers along with Yubel's powers, I have Yuugi-san's Millennium Puzzle, and Yuugi-san has your Signer mark." Judai clarifies the situation. "So, it seems to me that there was a glitch in some point in time and all of our powers have been mixed up! And apparently, we have to find a way to fix it before something terrible happens!"

"It would seem so." Yuugi sighs. "I'm sorry for snapping at the both of you. It's just . . . the Millennium Puzzle is the only important artifact that I have left and it contains the spirit of the only friend I have left. I can't afford to lose it in a time like this."

"Yuugi-san, what exactly . . . happened here?" Judai interrogates. He had looked around Domino City and had seen the citywide damage. The city was mostly in ruins except for a couple of half-buildings still standing.

"There was this strange man who called himself 'Paradox' that appeared not too long ago. He showed up with this dragon and he had begun destroying the city and everyone in it, including my grandfather. Now, there is no one in the city but me." Yuugi replies.

"Paradox?" Yusei and Judai respond at the same time.

"Huh? You know him?" Yuugi asks in a clueless tone.

"Yes." Yusei responds. "Apparently, he comes from the distant future, a future that's a long way after Judai's and mine, since we too come from the future." He then relays his part of the story to Yuugi and then Judai comes in relaying his. Then, both took turns relaying the recent parts of the story, including the recent events.

When they both finished their story, Yuugi did not respond for quite a while. Then he sighs and tells them, "Forgive me, you two. I did not realize you both were in pain also and that this mix up was not intentional on your part. Once we realize how to regain our own powers again, I – along with Mou Hitori No Boku – will gladly combine our powers with yours to defeat Paradox and regain Yusei-san's Stardust Dragon and keep our time slots in check."

"Mou Hitori No Boku?" Judai asks.

"Ah." Yuugi nods. "He's the spirit that resides in the Millennium Puzzle that you are wearing around your neck. He does not know his own name, so I just call him Mou Hitori No Boku. My friends call him Mou Hitori no Yuugi, and the general public at large just use my name for him since they cannot tell the difference. He's also on a journey to find more about his past, including his real name. I, who solved the Puzzle, am responsible to help him get to that stage."

"I see . . ." Yusei nods. "And, please, Yuugi-san. I am no greater than you are, so don't use the formal honorifics for my name."

"Okay, Yusei-kun." Yuugi nods.

"Now, the main question is, how do we regain our powers? Just trying to remove the Millennium Puzzle from my neck was a really hard challenge!" Judai exclaims in desperation.

"That is a good question." Yuugi nods.

"We have to get our powers back in order before Paradox uses this misfortune as his advantage. We can't waste time." Yusei declares.

"Ah. But, if we can't even lift the Millennium Puzzle from Judai-kun's neck, how will we get back our own powers in time?"

* * *

**~Paradox's Hideout: Unknown, Between Judai and Yusei's time periods~**

"Historic duelists, in the situation you are in, you will never regain your powers."

A man laughs, with his laugh echoing across the walls of the room he was in. He has a muscular build and wears an attire that looks like a warrior's. He wears a sleeveless piece of clothing and the outside looks like the upper part of a skeleton with a crimson color in the background and has two straps that have silver accents on them on both sides of the clothing. He wears black gloves and the added accents have the same features. The lower half of his body contains a belt, a piece of clothing that was white that resembled the bottom of a coat, and a gold belt in the middle. He has yellow hair with purple locks that travel to the floor and wears black shoes. He wears a black and white mask over his face to hide his true expressions. Behind the mask, he has hazel colored eyes and a red line going across his face. He is a ruthless man who has come from far in the future to save his time period from painful destruction, the destruction he blames Duel Monsters for.

His real name is unknown, but the name you need to remember for this figure only is Paradox.

"Just try and rediscover your powers, historic duelists." He sneers at the cloud he is watching the situation in. "My plan is already complete and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me! You will soon feel the effects of my success very soon as your pitiful time periods, Judai and Yusei, are disappearing, thanks to the success of my mission of killing Pegasus J. Crawford, creator of the hideous card game that threatened my world. Since that time period is destroyed, you two will disappear, never to be seen again! Sayonara* historic duelists!"

* * *

**~Domino City~**

There is pain in Yusei's heart. He has no idea where it is coming from or why. However, the last time he had felt extreme pain such as this was when he was returning to Earth from the depths of Hell. It was the feeling . . . of disappearing. This effect on Yusei was so strong that it knocks him down to the ground and had him clutching his chest in order to prevent this from becoming worse.

Judai, too, begins to feel the same excruciating pain. However, unlike Yusei, he did not try to hide the fact that he was in pain nor did he realize that he was disappearing. He cries out in pain and clutches his shirt.

"Judai-kun! Yusei-kun! What's wrong?" Yuugi cries out in concern.

"This pain . . . It's extreme." Yusei gasps in between breaths. "I can't . . . even breath."

Judai, in response to Yusei's breathless statement, cries out in pain again. "It feels like I'm dying!"

"Dying . . . ?" Yuugi mouths.

"Yuugi-san, whatever Paradox has done to your time period, it is affecting the both of us." Yusei whispers. He begins to cough violently, so much so that blood begins to spatter out of his mouth while trying to hold onto himself. Judai begins to go into a state of hysteria, thinking that he will die in a matter of seconds.

Yuugi, watching this chaos, is speechless.

"No . . . This can't be happening . . ."

Yusei and Judai continue to react to the event that both their time periods were, in fact, disappearing. Buildings were crumbling in both time periods and people were disappearing like bolts of lightning. There was no hope for anyone in these time periods for they both were disappearing, thanks to Paradox's destruction,

Yuugi clutches his right arm in despair.

"This whole scenario . . . IT'S A LIE!" He cries. At that moment, the sky turned black, for Domino City could only remain intact for so long after its destruction, and Yuugi's right arm began to glow.

"What the . . . ?"

For the third time that day, the Crimson Dragon reappears in front of the three of them, giving the same high-pitched cry. It emits a bright light, signaling that it was disappearing. The bright light engulfs the three of them and they begin to go into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Aibou . . . Aibou, are you awake?"

Yuugi moans in pain. _What had happened? Where am I?_ _Am I even . . . alive?_

"Aibou, say something!"

"Huh . . . Mou . . . Hitori No Boku?" Yuugi asks, although very weak. He rises from the ground slowly and found himself in the middle of a street. It looks like Domino City . . . but wait. Domino City had been ruined, hadn't it? How come this street looks unscathed? Maybe Yuugi was dead.

"Aibou, thank goodness you're alive!"

"Huh?" Yuugi gave a look of bewilderment. However, when he looks down at the Millennium Puzzle that was rightfully hanging around his neck at last, tears begin to form in his eyes.

"Whatever happened back then . . ." Yuugi whispers, rubbing his head in pain, ". . . must have reversed the damage and given the three of us our powers back!"

"That's right. Apparently, this Crimson Dragon reacted against time being ruined by Paradox and it rebelled against the glitches in time, therefore restoring and giving the powers to the right owner." The spirit explains.

"I'm glad." Yuugi nods. "Now we can combine our powers and defeat Paradox before something like that happens again!"

"Ah." The spirit agrees.

Yuugi looks around at his surroundings and he discovers that Judai and Yusei were still unconscious. He walks over to the two and attempts to wake them up.

"Hey! Yusei-kun, Judai-kun! Wake up!"

Yusei moans and opens his eyes slowly in response.

"What . . . what happened?" He asks. "Did . . . did we disappear yet?"

"On the contrary, no we didn't." Yuugi replies in a matter-of-factly tone. "The Crimson Dragon restored our powers and gave each power to the right person."

"What are you -" Yusei was about to inquire in disbelief, but he notices the Head mark on his right arm, where it rightfully was supposed to be.

"The Head mark!" Yusei exclaims. "I have it again!"

"YUBEL!"

Yuugi and Yusei turn in the direction of the exclamation and finds Judai, whose eyes have turned orange and blue, rejoicing.

"So," Judai turns and faces the both of them, grinning, "it seems whatever happened back then restored things back to normal, right? It would seem so. Yubel and I are one in our powers again."

"So it seems." Yusei nods, agreeing. "Now we can combine our powers and defeat Paradox."

"All this time travelling gets you hyped up, doesn't it?" Judai exclaims, doing a running motion at the same time.

"We can't let down our guard. He still has the power to damage time as he pleases and he still has cards to destroy it." Yusei warns.

"It is as you say." A voice echoes. "I still have the power to destroy each one of you."

"What? Who are you?" Yusei demands. "Show yourself!"

The voice only laughs as a sound of a D-Wheel could be heard coming towards the three of them. The three of them gasp as they gaze upon the D-Wheel that is before them. The driver is a man that is familiar to all three of them: Paradox. Yuugi, Judai, and Yusei gasp in surprise at this arrival.

"Paradox!" The three exclaim in shock.

"Why are you doing this?" Yuugi interrogates angrily. "Why are you destroying our time periods mercilessly?"

"What you're doing is just plain destruction!" Judai cries.

"If I let history be, the world will be destroyed." Paradox replies smoothly. "I have come to change that hopeless future."

"So you take my Stardust -"

"– destroy my home -"

"- and murder Domino City because of that?" Yuugi finishes. "What are you? Some kind of madman?"

Paradox chuckles a little, which explodes into a loud laughter that startles the three of them. He could only find humor in their summarization of what he had done. Of course he has done more than that. Had these fools not realized the effects yet? Or were they just ignorant?

"Historic duelists, if only you understood the meaning of loneliness. Then, maybe you would understand precisely why I have carried out what I have carried out thus far. However, I have done more than what you have stated. For instance, your powers being misplaced. Even though this was not intentional on my part, it had aided me in my quest to save my time period from the destruction of Duel Monsters. While you were busy regaining your powers, I had watched as your time periods, Judai and Yusei, pitifully crumbled away. No human beings are alive in either time periods now and you two will join them very soon."

Judai growls at Paradox's statement. "What did you say?"

Yusei, however, has a different reaction to the statement. He is in a state of shock, almost disbelief.

"My friends . . . they're . . . they're . . ."

"Gone. They vanished into thin air." Paradox smirks behind his mask. "However, Yusei, you should really be thanking me. I am only forestalling your future suffering."

"By taking my friends away? By destroying me? How is that forestalling, you bastard?" Yusei angrily interrogates. "Answer me!"

"Reverse Momentum was an event caused by Rudger Godwin in his blindness to the truth, taking your parents and numerous lives. You have been stabbed in the back time and time again, yet you feign a strong front in order not to disturb anyone else with your emotions. Yusei, no human being would do something so foolish."

"What?" Yusei gasps. "I need to be strong for the sake of Satellite, for Neo-Domino, for everyone! If I let my emotions loose, that would pose all kinds of problems for everyone around me!"

"That is exactly your problem. You call yourself Hakase Fudou's son? You must be joking. Hakase Fudou's son, the Signer who is destined to bear the Head Mark and lead the other four Signers, wouldn't allow Stardust Dragon to be an open target to thieves time and time again. You have even sat back and watched as I took your Stardust Dragon away from you when I was in the beginning phases of my plan. You're not Hakase and Ayame Fudou's son. You're just an imposter, a fake. The REAL Yusei Fudou died after his duel with Rudger Godwin, after he fell into the Momentum's light. The only reason YOU exist is through the mercy of Hakase Fudou. He had created a shell that represented his son in every way except emotion. A human without emotions deserve to rot in hell."

"You . . . !" Judai growls as he steps forward in an attempt to tackle Paradox.

"Judai-kun! Stay back!" Yuugi commands, grabbing Judai's arm.

"But he -" Judai protests, but Yuugi nods his head as if repeating what he said.

"This is a battle that only Yusei-kun can overcome and if we enter into it, Paradox will find the three of us weak in spirit. We have to stay strong." Yuugi explains. "We can't interfere at this point."

Yusei is completely deaf to Judai and Yuugi's conversation as he tries to interpret what Paradox just spewed at him. He . . . was an imposter? Was he really the Yusei Fudou who had endured hell on Earth for so long? What was Paradox saying? There could only be one Yusei Fudou in the world. How could he be . . . an imposter?

"What are you saying?" Yusei whispers.

"All that I am saying is that your existence isn't needed in this world." Paradox replies. "You are just a shell, the darkness of Yusei's heart, that serves the purpose of satisfying people's dimmed memories. However, once you are erased, then so will the tragedies that came along with your existence."

"My . . . existence caused . . . tragedies?"

"Yes. So, will you not surrender Stardust Dragon to me since it is not your own? You do want to save the world, don't you? You do want to revive Yusei Fudou from the depths of the Momentum so he can finally be reunited with his parents after so long, right? Just surrender and peace will reign upon the Earth for the remainder of time itself."

"Yusei . . ." Judai whispers. "Don't fall for it. Don't fall for his wordy crap!"

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle appears beside Yuugi in frustration with Paradox's words.

"Aibou, just WHAT is Paradox planning to do? Hasn't he done enough trouble already?"

"I am not so sure myself. After what Paradox did to my grandfather," Yuugi chokes a bit, "I don't know anything anymore."

"So, what will it be?" Paradox asks. "You live or everyone else lives? Take your pick, shell of Yusei Fudou."

Yusei did not want to disappear off the face of the Earth forever, but at the same time, he didn't want everyone else to die for his existence either. "I -"

"Yusei . . ." Judai whispers out of concern.

"Your answer is appreciated now." Paradox chuckles.

"I . . . surrend-"

At that moment, Yusei's right arm begins to glow. However, unlike the previous times, no one, not even Paradox, seem to notice this sensation.

"My mark . . ." Yusei whispers. "It's still here . . . but I am only a shell . . ."

The mark then glows brightly enough to blind Yusei.

* * *

When he recovers his sight, he sees a figure standing before him, one that oddly resembled . . . his father.

"My son . . . Yusei, can you see me?"

Yusei thought he was hearing things, but he trusts his sense of hearing to not deceive him in a time such as this. As soon as the words sank into his ears, he recognizes the voice that spoke them almost immediately.

"Otou-san*? Is that . . . you?" Yusei asks. "Is that really you?"

"Yusei, my son, you cannot see me as you are blind from Paradox's words to you."

"I cannot be called your son." Yusei shakes his head furiously, his voice cracking. "What Paradox said was true. Yusei Fudou is your son, but he died back in that duel with Rudger. You created me in his stead so that the expectations of everyone wouldn't be betrayed. I am only the darkness in your son's heart. I am not your son."

Hakase, hearing all of this, was distraught. Here standing before him with blinded eyes from Paradox's words was his son, his ONLY son, the one whom he adored to the point of raising him up from the dead when he had been trapped in Hell. However, his son was denying these facts and Paradox's words had led him to believe that he was only a vessel, someone to 'pick up the pieces' for his son. However, he knew this wasn't true. He knew that the miracle that he and his wife bore through the many sufferings was standing right in front of him.

"This Paradox man . . . He lied to you, just like Rudger had lied to you about your past." Hakase replies, wrapping his arms around Yusei.

"Otou-san . . . why . . ." Yusei is shocked at what was happening. Why was Yusei's father doing this to him? Why does he keep calling him 'otou-san'? He could not comprehend what was occurring, but Hakase destroys this confusion in an instant.

"I do not know who or what you think you are, but all that I, Yuugi, Judai, even Paradox know is that you are Yusei Fudou, the heir of the Fudou name, the child of Ayame Fudou and me, the unworthy sinner that is your father who has indirectly caused the events of Zero Reverse, the Signer with the Head mark that is worthy of holding Stardust Dragon. You are not anyone else, Yusei. Do not let anything ever change that." Hakase whispers.

"But, Paradox said that if I died, Yusei would be reunited with his parents." Yusei protests. "Don't you want to see your son again?"

"Yusei, you are my son. If you died, that wouldn't happen, but more terrible events would ensue because of it. Don't surrender to Paradox, for the sake of your mother, Ayame . . . for me." Hakase's voiced cracks as he says this.

"Otou-san . . ." Yusei's voice quavers when finally, he breaks down weeping. The fact that he was able to see his father again was enough emotion for him, but for his father to actually prove what Paradox had said false . . . meant so much.

"Yusei, my son, go now." Hakase whispers. "Go and avenge your mother and me against this man who threatens our family, who threatens the existence of time itself."

"But . . . what about you? What will happen to you?" Yusei asks, who was still weeping.

"Don't worry about me, Yusei. I will be just fine." Hakase smiles. Yusei gasps as a bright light begins to envelope his father and blinding Yusei in the process.

"OTOU-SAN!"

* * *

"Yusei, your decision please."

Yusei's consciousness comes back to Earth where time was in danger of being destroyed thanks to Paradox. However, instead of feeling hopeless, he feels determined to defeat Paradox once and for all and regain Stardust.

"No." Yusei replies.

"Yusei . . ." Judai whispers happily.

"No, Paradox. I WON'T surrender to you." Yusei declares strongly.

"But, you're just a vessel. What good are you?" Paradox sneers.

"No, you're wrong. I'm not a vessel. I'm Yusei Fudou, son of Hakase and Ayame Fudou who bears the Head mark on my right arm. I won't let you change who I am and I definitely will not stand by and watch you ruin our futures!" Yusei declared strongly.

Paradox becomes shocked at this sudden turn of events. Wasn't Yusei abandoning life not too long ago? What had caused him to gain such inspiration? Did it have something to do with that odd light that appeared?

"Alright!" Judai grins, punching the air.

"Paradox!" Yusei cries out. "Duel us! Let's put an end to this!"

At that moment, the three's powers begin to activate. Yuugi's Millennium Puzzle activates and the eye of Widjat appears on his forehead and when the glows disappear, another person, the Pharaoh of 3,000 years ago, appears in Yuugi's place. He looks very serious as he is dead set on avenging the people that were mercilessly killed by Paradox.

Judai's eyes transforms into red and green and a faint apparition of Yubel appears behind him. He looks excited at the challenge that would decide the fate of time.

"I'm all pumped and ready to beat you down!" Judai declares.

Yusei's Head Mark appears on his right arm, glowing brightly as the Crimson Dragon appears behind him.

"We won't let you toy with our futures!" Yusei declares.

"Hm. Interesting. So you've activated your powers. Let's see how well they do against my army of Sin monsters!" Paradox yells. "Active your duel disks, duelists!"

Yusei, Judai, and the Millennium Puzzle spirit obey this command by activating their duel disks at the same time.

"DUEL!"

* * *

**Translations**

* The warm feelings hidden in your heart

They continue to fly in the infinity of the future

The _hope_ that started to take shape even if it crossed the limits

Will show us the way to the place where the dazzling light pierces.

(Italicized word not accurate translation)

*Minna – Everyone

Ojii-chan - Grandpa

Mou Hitori No Boku - Other Me

Sayonara - Goodbye

Otou-san - Father

* * *

**Note**

_Well, it seems I actually started a fanfic idea and actually completed it for once . . . in less than a month, no less._

_Before the completion of this one-shot, I had recently found out information about the 10__th__ Anniversary Movie that really was a bit . . . spoilerish. All that I can say is that the timeline expressed in this one-shot is NOT the same one in the movie. _

_Yes. It's longer than most of my fics, but I really had a lot of ideas for it, resulting in many words. Reviews and Praise/Criticism welcome~_

_~Hakase Fudou: February 13, 2010~_


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